Dinner is served
by Hobbitpal
Summary: She had ridden a dragon out of Gringotts, but having dinner with some of her boyfriend's friends? That took a different kind of courage.
1. Chapter 1

It felt too soon to be accepting dinner party invitations as a couple. They'd only been together six months, but Percy had insisted that the invitation was for both of them. To give him credit, Oliver had asked her if she wanted to go and in the heat of the moment she had panicked and said yes. So now they were going to have dinner with Percy and his fiancée.

Hermione sighed, looking at her reflection in the mirror. After 10 minutes of toing and froing she had settled on the dress she had already decided she was going to wear. She sighed again, smoothing out her skirts. She wasn't sure why she was making such a song and dance of a dress. It was an informal dinner date. She was not meeting the Queen. But she wanted to make a good impression. Percy and Audrey were Oliver's friends and as his girlfriend she wanted to be presentable.

"You keep frowning like that the wind will change and your face will be stuck like that." Hermione turned to her boyfriend and in a childish act stuck her tongue out at him. Oliver just laughed, getting up from the bed to stand behind her, his hands on her shoulders.

"You look beautiful." His smile broadened as a slight blush rose in her cheeks. It was subtle, but he knew it was there. She always seemed to blush when he complimented her, as though she was surprised someone would find her attractive.

"Thank you." He kissed the top of her head.

She turned away from the mirror and looked him up and down, exaggerating the look just to amuse him.

"You don't look bad yourself. Who knew you owned clothes that were not Quidditch related?" He frowned at her.

"Remind me why I keep you around?" Hermione laughed, leaning up to softly kiss his cheek.

"I ask myself that everyday."

"I'll tell you why," He drew her close and she found herself leaning into his embrace. "You are beautiful, smart, amazing and you could kill me with a thought. Very powerful aphrodisiac that." She batted his arm as he laughed.

From somewhere in the flat a clock chimed the hour.

"Come on, Percy is a stickler for punctuality."


	2. Chapter 2

Percy and his fiancée, Audrey, lived in a small village somewhere in Surrey. Their house was a wonderful two up two down affair with a small garden out front which was immaculately tidy, as only a garden owned by Percy Weasley could be. Lights were on in the downstairs windows and the place felt so homely and welcoming.

"Come on in, come on in." Audrey waved them through the door, smiling an infectious smile. "I hope you have brought large appetites. Percy has gone a bit OTT with this. He has been reminded that this is an informal dinner party, so he's made a three course meal." She was leading them into the kitchen come dinning room as she talked and Hermione had to admit the place smelt amazing.

Percy was stood at the kitchen counter, his back to them, clearly putting together their first course. He looked around at them as they came into the kitchen.

"Oliver! Hermione! Wonderful. I'll be with you in just a sec."

Audrey shook her head slightly. Oliver and Hermione exchanged smiles as they took their seats at the table as Audrey fetched bottles of wine from the fridge. The kitchen was a mix of magic and muggle. There were standard muggle appliances lie a fridge, kettle, microwave and so on but the books reminded Oliver of his mother's kitchen with Charm your own Cheese and Witch Weekly.

"You don't have to get them looking perfect Percy, some of us are hungry." Percy turned to frown at his fiancée.

"I am not getting them perfect I am making sure they are cooked. We cannot serve undercooked food to our guests."

"So long as it's not cheese on toast I'll eat anything you put in front of me." Hermione raised an eyebrow at Oliver. He smirked, nodding to Percy. "It was all he could cook back at Hogwarts on that tiny stove in the middle of the dormitory. Seven years I ate that cheese on toast."

"And was it not delicious Oliver?"

"It was, but it's nice to have a change." Hermione shook her head, Audrey grinning at her across the table. There was a shared understanding of _men_.

With a flick of his wand Percy levitated four dishes off the counter in front of him and send them gently over to the table.

"As a change from cheese on toast I present goats cheese and beetroot salad."

Hermione had to admit that she was impressed. Percy had obviously inherited his mother's talent for cooking and it tasted amazing. The goats cheese was crispy on the outside thanks to a crumb coating but it was cooked just enough to still have a gooey, oozy centre. It took all her restraint to not scoff the lot.

"Save room for dessert. It is a bit of a show stopper." She could well believe it.

Beside them Oliver and Percy were deep in conversation about Quidditch, which was only natural. Oliver may have come to realise that there was more to life than the Quidditch pitch, but it was the subject closest to his heart, and although Percy had never played the game at school he was an avid fan. Audrey just smiled at them before turning to Hermione.

"Get two wizards in a room and the mistress eventually comes out." Hermione smiled.

"Not much of a fan?" Audrey shock her head, "No. The idea of flying high in the air with nothing to catch you if you fall never really appealed to me. I, of course, supported Hufflepuff all the way at school, but as soon as I could get out of flying lessons I could. I guess you have to love the game."

Hermione shrugged, gently pushing her empty plate away.

"I have been to a couple of matches, mostly home ones, and I want Puddlemere to win, but I don't have to love the game it seems. But I did have a lot of practice at school. Pretty much all of my friends were on the Gryffindor team at one point or another."

"Weasleys?" Hermione laughed slightly. She guessed the Weasleys had rather dominated the Quidditch team for a good few years.

"For my sins. Were you part of Oliver and Percy's year?"

Audrey shock her head.

"No, I was the year below. I was a prefect though so I knew of Percy as Head Boy but apart from that didn't really run in the same circles."

"Can I ask how you met?" Audrey smile, glancing across at Percy, who appeared to be pretending that he wasn't listening, despite the fact the tips of his ears were turning pink.

"I worked for Arthur at the Ministry. Percy dropped by one afternoon looking for him and it was just me in the office and we got to talking. Then we kept bumping into each other and eventually he asked me out. And here we are a few years later."

The men were definitely now listening to the conversation. Oliver nodded to Percy.

"Always knew you had it in you."

Percy just coughed and stood, clearing the plates away with a wave of his wand.

"Yes, well. I hope you still have space. I will be back momentarily with the main course."

Oliver leant back in his chair.

"It is a good thing the season has ended. Coach would not approve of this indulgence." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Indulgence, you have seconds when ever you can. The amount of exercise you do I'm amazed you don't eat half a cow a day."

Oliver just grinned at her. Her cheeks were turning pink from the heat of the kitchen and the wine she had been drinking. It made her look stunning. His train of thought was interpreted by Percy coming back to the table followed by a stream of food. There was a joint of beef followed by roast potatoes, carrots, peas and Yorkshire puddings.

"This is a step up from cheese on toast." Percy just smiled, taking his seat next to Audrey.

"I have to agree Percy, this is amazing. Molly would be proud."

"Thank you Hermione. I rather missed Mum's cooking when I wasn't talking to the family and so I taught myself how to cook. Have a bit of home and all that." Audrey gently squeezed his hands as the tips of his ears turned pink again.

There was silence as everyone tucked into their platefuls. It tasted wonderful. The house elves at Hogwarts could not have produced something as good as this. Hermione wished she had worn a bigger dress.

As they continued to tuck into their plates talk naturally turned to the Ministry. As Percy, Audrey and Hermione all worked for the Ministry, all be it in different departments, it was only natural that there would be slight competition of whose department was the worst. Oliver just laughed at the anecdotes and stories all the while being thankful he didn't work in an office. The politics of a Quidditch team was more than enough for him.

Conversation lulled as Percy busied himself with dessert and even Oliver was wondering if he would have space. He had an appetite but Percy had made Weasley sized portions.

"And to finish, Mont Blanc made of meringue and cream."

Hermione felt like clapping. Audrey had not been wrong, it certainly was a show stopper, a gateaux of meringue and cream was laid before them with just a hint of a flourish.

"It is official. The mantle of Best Weasley Cook goes to you Percy. That is a thing to behold."


	3. Chapter 3

Audrey led Hermione and Oliver into the sitting room after dessert, while Percy set the pans to wash themselves and sort out coffee. Oliver collapsed into a chair and seemed to sit there in a mini food coma. Hermione couldn't blame him he had had seconds of dessert.

The sitting room was wonderfully warm and inviting. Book cases lined the walls and as Hermione cast her gaze aong the titles she noticed there were a mix of muggle and wizarding books. The Tales of Beadle the Bard sat quite happily alongside The Chronicles of Narnia.

"You should see the study upstairs. I have no idea how we own so many books but thank heavens Percy expanded the shelves."

Hermione could only nod. She was full and content. She sank onto the sofa next to Oliver, who looked as though he was ready to sleep.

Percy came into the room carrying a tray of mugs with a steaming pot of coffee alongside. They fell into idle chatter, talking about books and school and anything else that came to mind.

Hermione found herself to be very relaxed. She had been so nervous about having dinner with Percy and Audrey but they had been wonderful hosts. The food and the company had made for a fantastic evening.

Oliver looked across at her, curled up at the end of the sofa, her mug held under her chin, a sign that she was content. He was pleased the evening had gone well. Percy was his friend, his best friend even and he wanted the two of them to get along.

A clock chimed midnight, which took all of them by surprise. Slowly Hermione and Oliver got to their feet and Percy led them to the front door.

"Thank you for a wonderful evening. It was a lot of fun." Percy and Audrey grinned.

"Pleasure is ours and you must come again. Honest."

The Weasleys and Woods became solid friends after that and all over plates of good food.


End file.
